Ala. drug lab delays adding to prison overcrowding problem

[lin_video src=http://eplayer.clipsyndicate.com/embed/player.js?aspect_ratio=16×9&auto_next=1&auto_start=0&div_id=videoplayer-1372373663&height=480&page_count=5&pf_id=9624&pl_id=21958&show_title=1&va_id=4119979&width=640&windows=2 service=syndicaster width=640 height=480 div_id=videoplayer-1372373663 type=script]BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — They don’t come with flashing lights or ear-piercing sirens, but drug investigation labs — and the people who work in them — are more important to a criminal justice system than you may think.

Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Director Michael Sparks has his hands full dealing with a backlog of about 30,000 drug cases.

“You have to understand that a judge won’t have any evidence to hear,” Sparks says, “If we don’t have staff to work it.”

The department has lost 42 employees, three satellite drug labs and $5.2 million dollars in funding since 2009. It would take all employees working full time for one year to process the delayed 30,000 cases. Even more cases pile on each day.